We do Thanksgiving dinner at Josh and Audrey’s. There are several of their friends there, Sara, Fabio, Fausto and his wife Silvia who just had a baby, Silvia’s folks, Chiara and her ragazzo (?) Andrea – who else? L. makes her Nanna’s famous rolls, a tray of delicious puff pastry appetizers, green beans, plus she gives Josh free use of her giant Cooks Illustrated cook book to help him achieve a perfect turkey.

Josh and Audrey chose to hold the event on Saturday rather than Thursday since everyone would be free on the weekend and, in any case, the sanctity of the Thursday and it’s glorious promise of football and four-day weekend is a moot point here in Italy. We try to explain the day’s significance to the Italians, especially the part about the Xmas shopping season firing up next morning. Somehow, it gratifies me to see that they didn’t know the story. Why the Hell should they care? I really did miss Peg Spera’s house and the football games. I’ll never be able to groove on “calcio” like I do the NFL.

The Italians are funny about the food. The idea of filling your plate all at once with turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls, and stuffing, then dousing the whole mess with gravy strikes them as slightly distasteful, I think. Italians usually eat in courses, the antipasta with bread, the pasta, the vegetables and meat on separate plates, the dolce and grappa, everything in set order. Certain of us Americans can tire of this time-consuming method. When it comes to food, we’d rather grab it and growl, wolf it down, and hit the easy chair for a snooze. (For myself, I’m a slow eater with a bottomless appetite so the Italian way is a perfect fit.) Also, the pumpkin pie is a dud. Fortunately, Silvia brings some genuine Italian apple-cake so no one must go without. Another fun night with Josh and Audrey.

L. Note: Josh and Audrey cooked a perfect turkey. Ringraziamente to J&A, to Cook’s Illustrated, and to locally grown food. Steve forgot to mention our game of Pictionary – on top of that too-full Thanksgiving feeling, impossible!